Normal Through Optical Panel

ABSTRACT

A fiber optic connection panel including a chassis and a circuit module. The circuit module can include a housing, a plurality of adapters, and a plurality of fiber optic connectors connected to the adapters. The circuit module can also include an optical switch mounted to a printed circuit board, a plurality of fiber optic cables connecting the fiber optic connectors to the optical switch, and a separator plate partially covering the printed circuit board. At least some of the cables can include slack to allow the connectors to be removed from the circuit module, and the separator plate can be positioned to separate the slack of the cables from the printed circuit board. The circuit module can also include a connector edge of the printed circuit board extending through the housing, and a bracket coupled to the housing including members to surround and protect the connector edge.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/826,152, filed on Apr. 16, 2004 and entitled “Normal Through OpticalPanel,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to fiber optic connection panels.

BACKGROUND

Fiber optic connection panels are known which connect various pieces offiber optic equipment. The fiber optic connection panels include portsfor connecting to fiber optic cables, to link the equipment. Variousfunctions are useful in the fiber optic connection panels. One functionis monitoring of the signal pathways. Another useful function isswitching between equipment if a need arises without having to reconnectthe equipment cables. Improvements are desired.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a fiber optic connectionpanel with a normal through configuration to link optical equipment.Preferably, the panel has monitor access. The panel can preferably bereconfigured to change the circuit pathways, when desired.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a fiber optic connectionpanel including a plurality of circuits. The circuits are accessedthrough termination locations or ports. Preferably, IN and OUT (orSOURCE and DESTINATION) termination locations are located on a firstside of the panel during a normal through state. A switch included inthe circuitry disconnects the IN and OUT termination locations, andconnects each of the IN and OUT termination locations to further IN andOUT termination locations or ports, located on an opposite side of thepanel in a patched state. Preferably, at least one of the circuit pathsincludes a monitor circuit and a termination location or port.

In one embodiment, a fiber optic connection panel includes a chassis,and a circuit module adapted to be mounted to the chassis. The circuitmodule includes a housing defining an interior, a plurality of adaptersmounted on a front face and a rear face of the housing, a plurality offiber optic connectors connected to interior ports defined by theadapters, an optical switch mounted to a printed circuit boardpositioned in the interior of the housing, a plurality of fiber opticcables connecting the fiber optic connectors to the optical switch, anda separator plate positioned to at least partially cover the printedcircuit board. At least some of the fiber optic cables include slack toallow the fiber optic connectors coupled thereto to be removed from thecircuit module, and the separator plate is positioned to separate theslack of the fiber optic cables from the printed circuit board.

In another embodiment, a normal through circuit module includes ahousing defining an interior, a plurality of adapters mounted on a frontface and a rear face of the housing, a plurality of fiber opticconnectors connected to interior ports defined by the adapters, anoptical switch mounted to a printed circuit board positioned in theinterior of the housing, a plurality of fiber optic cables connectingthe fiber optic connectors to the optical switch, and a separator platepositioned to at least partially cover the printed circuit board. Atleast some of the fiber optic cables include slack to allow the fiberoptic connectors coupled thereto to be removed from the circuit module,and the separator plate is positioned to separate the slack of the fiberoptic cables from the printed circuit board.

In yet another embodiment, a normal through circuit module includes ahousing defining an interior, a plurality of adapters mounted on a frontface and a rear face of the housing, a plurality of fiber opticconnectors connected to interior ports defined by the adapters, anoptical switch mounted to a printed circuit board positioned in theinterior of the housing, a plurality of fiber optic cables connectingthe fiber optic connectors to the optical switch, a connector edgedefined by a portion of the printed circuit board, wherein the connectoredge extends through an aperture defined by the rear face of the housingof the circuit module, and a bracket coupled to the rear face to protectthe connector edge.

In another embodiment, a normal through circuit module includes ahousing defining an interior, an optical switch mounted to a printedcircuit board positioned in the interior of the housing, a connectoredge defined by a portion of the printed circuit board, wherein theconnector edge extends through an aperture defined by a rear of thehousing of the circuit module, and a bracket coupled to the rear toprotect the connector edge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a fiber optic connection panel inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the connection panel of FIG. 1with the front cover removed.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the connection panel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the connection panel of FIG. 1 withthe rear cover removed.

FIG. 5 is a right side elevational view of the connection panel of FIG.1.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the connection panel of FIG. 1with the front cover in the pivoted open position.

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the connection panel of FIG. 1 withthe rear cover in the pivoted open position.

FIG. 8 is an exploded front perspective view of the connection panel ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is an exploded rear perspective view of the connection panel ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a further exploded front perspective view of the connectionpanel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of a circuit module from theconnection panel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a rear perspective view of the circuit module of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of the circuit module of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a rear elevational view of the circuit module of FIG. 11.

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of the circuit module of FIG. 11 withone side panel removed.

FIG. 16 is a circuit schematic for a portion of the circuitry within thecircuit module of FIG. 11.

FIG. 17 is a schematic showing the normal through signal pathway throughone of the circuits in the circuit module of FIG. 11.

FIG. 18 is a schematic showing the patched signal pathway through one ofthe circuits in the circuit module of FIG. 11.

FIG. 19 is another schematic showing the normal through signal pathwaysthrough the circuit module.

FIG. 20 is a schematic like FIG. 19 showing the patched signal pathwaysthrough the circuit module.

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment ofa connection panel including splices.

FIG. 22 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of a fiberoptic connection panel with the front cover removed and a power supplymodule and circuit module shown in exploded form in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 23 is a rear perspective view of the power supply module of FIG.22.

FIG. 24 is a front elevational view of the circuit module of FIG. 22.

FIG. 25 is a rear elevational view of the circuit module of FIG. 22.

FIG. 26 is a front perspective view of the circuit module of FIG. 22.

FIG. 27 is a back perspective view of the circuit module of FIG. 22.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the circuit module of FIG. 22 with thecover removed.

FIG. 29 is a top view of the circuit module of FIG. 28.

FIG. 30 is an exploded perspective view of the circuit module of FIG.22.

FIG. 31 is a schematic showing the normal through signal pathway throughone of the circuits of the circuit module of FIG. 22.

FIG. 32 is a schematic showing the patched signal pathway through one ofthe circuits of the circuit module of FIG. 22.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIGS. 1-10, a fiber optic communications panel 10 isshown. Panel 10 includes a chassis 12 with brackets 14 for mountingpanel 10 to a rack, frame, cabinet, or other structure. Panel 10includes circuitry that connects fiber optic cables and equipment. Thecircuitry includes a normal through state, and also a patched state foruse in changing the connections between the equipment. The preferredcircuitry also includes monitor functions for monitoring signals throughpanel 10.

Panel 10 includes a front 16, and an opposite rear 18. A top 20, anopposite bottom 22, a left side 24, and a right side 26 cooperate withfront and back 16, 18 to define an interior 28 for holding thecircuitry. Disposed within interior 28 is a bulkhead 32 that holds aplurality of circuit modules 34 containing the circuitry.

Panel 10 includes a pivoting front cover 36, and a pivoting rear cover38 for allowing selective access to interior 28 through front 16 or back18, respectively. Front and rear covers 36, 38 include hinges 46, andlatches 48 for selectively latching covers 36, 38 in the closedpositions.

Panel 10 includes a front cable management arrangement 42 disposedbetween bulkhead 32 and front 16. Behind bulkhead 32, and modules 34,panel 10 includes a rear cable management arrangement 44. Both front andrear cable management arrangements 42, 44 are configured for managingcables extending to and from modules 34. Front cable managementarrangement 42 includes a plurality of front cable rings 50. Cablesextending to the fronts of modules 34 are managed by rings 50 and exitchassis 12 at openings 60 defined by the ends of front cover 36.

Rear cable management arrangement 44 includes a plurality of rear cablerings 54. Cable rings 54 are used for slack storage of cables extendinginto chassis 12 toward modules 34.

Rear vertical radius limiters 52 define rear openings 58 for cablesentering and exiting panel 10. Fan out mounts 56 are also provided inrear cable management arrangement 44 for use in fanning out ribboncables. Alternatively, rear cable management arrangement 44 includessplice trays for holding cable splices. FIG. 21 shows an alternativepanel 200 including a splice tray 202.

Referring now to FIGS. 10-15, one of modules 34 is shown including amodule housing 62 including a first side 64, a second side 66, a thirdside 68, and a fourth side 70. A front face 72, and an opposite rearface 74 cooperate with sides 64, 66, 68, 70 to define an interior 75 forholding circuit elements. Front face 72 includes opposed flanges 76 formounting to bulkhead 32 with fasteners 78.

Rear face 74 of module 34 includes a plurality of termination locationsor ports 80 for accessing the fiber optic circuitry contained withinmodule housing 62. Preferably each termination location 80 includes afiber optic adapter 82. The illustrated adapters 82 are SC typeadapters. Each termination location in panel 10 defines a port forconnecting to a fiber optic cable. A first port 84 defines a first INport or input port. A second port 86 defines an OUT port or output port.Rear face 74 further includes a second IN port 88 and a second OUT port90. Rear face 74 also includes a power connector 92. In normaloperation, in the normal through state, port 84 is connected to port 86and port 88 is connected to port 90.

Front face 72 of module housing 62 includes a first IN port 94, and afirst OUT port 96. Front face 72 further includes a second IN port 98,and a second OUT port 100. In the normal through operation, front ports94, 96, 98, 100 are not connected to rear ports 84, 86, 88, 90. In thepatched operation, front port 94 is connected to rear port 86. Further,front port 96 is connected to rear port 84, front port 98 is connectedto rear port 90, and front port 100 is connected to rear port 88. Frontface 72 further includes two monitor ports 102, 104 for connecting torear ports 86, 90, respectively.

Switches 106, 108 on front face 72 control switching between the normalthrough and the patched configurations. First and second visualindicators 110, 112 indicate which state the switch is in. Switches 106,108 are manually operated toggle switches. Other manually operatedswitches could be used, such as push buttons. Visual indicators 110, 112are electrically powered LED's in the illustrated embodiment. Theindicators are optional, since the position of the toggle switches 106,108 can also indicate the state of the switching circuit.

Referring now to FIG. 15, interior 75 of module 34 includes a printedcircuit board 114 including fiber to PC connectors 116 and circuitry118. The fiber to PC connectors 116 link ports 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 94,96, 98, 100 to PCB 114. Circuitry 118 controls operation of the circuitconditions between the normal through state and the patched state.Circuitry 118 (see FIG. 16) includes a power conversion circuit 122 forconverting minus 48 VDC to plus 5 volts for operating a 2×2 opticalswitch 124. Each toggle switch 106, 108 switches the respective opticalswitch 124 between states. LED's 110, 112 indicate to the operator thestate of the 2×2 switch 124. The monitor function is carried out by asplitter 126, such as a 90/10 splitter.

With circuitry 118, each module 34 can provide a transmit signal pathwayand a receive signal pathway. Two modules 34 can be cross-connectedtogether to cross-connect two pieces of equipment.

Module 34 includes two circuits, each with two input ports and twooutput ports in the normal through state and in the patched state.Module 34 can also be packaged each with a single circuit, if desired.By packaging two circuits in one module, a single 2×2 optical switch canbe used to control the circuit states. In single circuit modules, a 1×2switch would be needed for each module. With the dual circuit module,fewer switches are needed for the overall system.

While the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 1-20 uses adapters 82 on rearface 74 of module 34, module 34 can be provided with pigtails whichextend out from the interior of the module through an opening 204 in themodule and connect to fiber optic cables, such as through a splice in asplice tray of the panel 200 (see FIG. 21). Splice trays 202 can be usedin rear cable management arrangement 44, instead of the noted cableclips and fan out mounts as shown in FIG. 21.

Referring now to FIG. 22, another fiber optic communications panel 300is shown. Panel 300 includes many components that are similar to thosedescribed above for panel 10. For example, panel 300 includes a chassis312 with brackets 314 for mounting panel 300 to a rack, frame, cabinet,or other structure.

Panel 300 also includes an interior 328 for holding a plurality ofcircuit modules 334 (a single module 334 is shown in FIG. 22) containingcircuitry, and a power supply module 336. Interior 328 includes railguides 329 sized to accept fins 335 a of modules 334, 336 to guidemodules 334, 336 into chassis 312. Modules 334, 336 also include similarfins 335 b extending in an opposite direction to engage opposing railguides (not shown) in interior 328.

Interior 328 also includes a plurality of cable management structuresincluding fingers 395 radius limiters 391. Interior 328 also includes apower bus 350 and an electrical isolation wall 351. Electrical isolationwall 351 and chassis 312 define therebetween a space through whichelectrical wires can be run to carry power from a rear of chassis 312 toconnector 346, described further below. Electrical isolation wall 351functions to isolate the electrical wires running therethrough from theremaining components in interior 328.

Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23, power supply module 336 includes a frontface 338 with a switch 339 that is used to turn the power supply module336 on and off, A rear face 340 of the power supply module 336 includesa power connector 342 and a PCB connector 344. When power supply module336 is inserted into interior 328 of panel 300, fin 335 a is guided byrail guide 329 a toward a rear of panel 300 until power connector 342 ofpower supply module 336 is connected to connector 346 mounted to chassis312. Connector 346 is, in turn, connected to a source of power such as,for example, an alternating current (AC) power source.

In addition, PCB connector 344 of power supply module 336 connects toconnector 348 of bus 350 mounted in interior 328 of panel 300. Bus 350also includes a plurality of connectors 352 positioned along the bus 350to provide power to modules 334, as described below. In thisconfiguration, power is provided from an AC source through connector 346to power supply module 336, and power supply module 336 provides power(e.g., 48 VDC) to connectors 352 of bus 350 through PCB connector 344and connector 348.

In the illustrated embodiment, power supply module 340 is accessiblefrom a front 302 of panel 300. In this configuration, power supplymodule 340 can be inserted into and removed from interior 328 of panel300 from the front 302 of panel 300. In one embodiment, power supplymodule 340 is “hot swappable,” meaning that power supply module 340 canbe removed and/or inserted into panel 300 without turning off the ACpower source to panel 300.

Referring now to FIGS. 24-30, example module 334 is shown including amodule housing 362 with a front face 372 and an opposite rear face 374.Module housing 362 also includes a sidewall 373 and a cover 376. Frontand rear faces 372, 374, sidewall 374, and cover 376 together define aninterior space interior 375 for circuit elements. More or fewer wallscan also be used to form interior 375.

Rear face 374 of module 334 includes a plurality of terminationlocations or ports 380 for accessing the fiber optic circuitry containedwithin module housing 362. Each termination location 380 includes afiber optic adapter 382 coupled to module 334 using a bracket 383. SeeFIG. 30. Bracket 383 includes a tab 383 a that can be accessed(depressed) from an outside of module 334 to allow bracket 383, adapter382, and an associated fiber optic connector, such as connector 462(described further below), to be removed from termination location 380.A first port 384 defines a first source “S” port or input port. A secondport 386 defines a destination “D” port or output port. Rear face 374further includes a second source port 388 and a second destination port390. In normal operation, in the normal through state, port 384 isconnected to port 386 and port 388 is connected to port 390. See FIG.31.

Rear face 374 also includes a PCB connector 392 extending through anaperture 498. When module 334 is inserted into chassis 312, PCBconnector 392 connects to a respective one of the connectors 352 of bus350 and power for module 334 is provided therethrough. In addition, abracket 393 coupled to rear face 374 includes portions 393 a, 393 b, and393 c that extend from rear face 374 to protect PCB connector 392. (Seealso bracket 341 coupled to power supply module 336.) In the exampleshown, portions 393 a, 393 b, and 393 c surround three sides of PCBconnector 392 and extend beyond an end 392 a of PCB connector 392 toprotect PCB connector 392. Portions 393 a, 393 b, 393 c are alsoconfigured so that portions 393 a, 393 b, 393 c do not interfere whenPCB connector 392 is connected to connector 352 on bus 350.

Front face 372 of module housing 362 includes a first source “S” port394, and a first destination “D” port 396. Front face 372 furtherincludes a second source port 398, and a second destination port 400. Inthe normal through operation, front ports 394, 396, 398, 400 are notconnected to rear ports 384, 386, 388, 390. See FIG. 31. In the patchedoperation, front port 394 is connected to rear port 386. Further, frontport 396 is connected to rear port 384, front port 398 is connected torear port 390, and front port 400 is connected to rear port 388. SeeFIG. 32. Front face 372 further includes two monitor ports 402, 404 forconnecting to rear ports 386, 390, respectively.

Switches 406, 408 on front face 372 control switching between the normalthrough and the patched configurations. First and second visualindicators 410, 412 indicate which state each switch is in (for example,green for normal through, red for patched). Switches 406, 408 aremanually operated toggle switches. In the example shown, switches 406,408 are momentary toggle switches. Other switches can be used, such aspush buttons. Visual indicators 410, 412 are electrically powered LED'sin the illustrated embodiment.

Referring now to FIGS. 28-30, interior 375 of module 334 includes a PCB414 coupled to sidewall 373 by screws inserted into mounts 494 ofsidewall 373. PCB 414 includes circuitry including optical switches 424,426. Each switch 406, 408 on front face 372 switches the respectiveoptical switch 424, 426 between states. LED's 410, 412 indicate thestate of each switch 424, 426. PCB 414 also includes PCB connector 392extending through aperture 498 of rear face 374 to provide power to PCB414 and switches 424, 426. In the example shown, PCB connector 392 ispart of PCB 414. For example, PCB connector 392 includes tracings thatextend from PCB 414 to adjacent an end 392 a of PCB connector 392 sothat, when PCB connector 392 is connected to one of the connectors 352of bus 350, power is provided to PCB 414.

Also included in interior 375 of module 334 is a separator plate 440including legs 441 coupled to sidewall 373 by screws. A plurality ofsplitters 426 a, 426 b, 426 c, 426 d is coupled to a bracket 428 onseparator plate 440. In the example shown, splitters 426 a, 426 b, 426c, 426 d are 90/10 splitters and perform the monitor function. In otherembodiments, other splitters, such as 90/5 or 99/1 splitters, can beused.

In the example shown, separator plate 440 covers PCB 414 so that opticalfibers in interior 375 are separated from PCB 414, as described furtherbelow. See FIG. 30.

Referring again to FIGS. 28-30, fiber optic connectors, such as exampleconnectors 427, 462, are connected to interior-facing ports of adapters382 of module 334 to couple adapters 382 to switches 424, 426 andsplitters 426 a, 426 b, 426 c, 426 d, respectively. For example,connector 462 is connected to adapter 382 associated with source port384 on rear face 374. In the example shown, connectors 427, 462 areSC-type connectors, although other types of connectors such as, forexample, FC, ST, and LX.5 can also be used. (The other adapters 382 areshown with dust caps connected therein.)

Connector 462 includes an optical cable 464 running from connector 462to optical switch 424. Optical switch 424 is in turn connected tosplitter 426 c by cable 466, and splitter 426 c is connected to fiberoptic connector 427 by cable 465 to complete the normal through route.Although only two connectors and associated cable are shown for purposesof clarity, connectors can be connected to each of the adapters ofmodule 334, and cables can be used to connect the connectors to therespective switches and splitters.

In the example shown, bracket 383, adapter 382, and connector 462 can beremoved from rear face 374 (see, for example, FIG. 30) so that connector462 can be accessed by removing connector 462 from adapter 382. Opticalcable 464 is looped within interior 375 of module 334 so that slack isprovided when connector 462 is removed. (Although only a single loop isshown for purposes of clarity, cable 464 can be looped multiple times toprovide greater amounts of slack.) For example, in one embodiment slackin cable 464 is provided so that connector 462 can be pulledapproximately six inches out of module 334 so that connector 462 can becleaned or replaced. In other embodiments, more or less slack can beprovided such as, for example, three inches, nine inches, or twelveinches. Cable 465 is similarly provided with slack so that connector 427can be removed. Cables connected to the other adapters can also beprovided with slack.

Separator plate 440 generally functions to cover PCB 414 and manage theslack in the cables (e.g., cables 464, 465) away from PCB 414. In thismanner, the slack in the cables is protected from contacting sharp edgesor snagging on PCB 414 or any components mounted thereon.

In some embodiments, clips 470, 472 can be mounted to separator plate440 to further manage the slack in the cables as the cables are loopedwithin interior 375. Further, in additional circular loops, slack in thecables can also be looped in “FIG. 8” configurations as well. Thesetypes of looping configurations allow the slack in the cables to bemanaged by separator plate 440 while maintaining the cables with properbend radii.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, the inventionresides in the claims hereinafter appended.

1. A circuit module, comprising: a housing defining an interior; aplurality of fiber optic connectors extending from a front face or arear face of the housing; at least one electrical connector extendingfrom the front face or the rear face of the housing; a circuit boardpositioned in the interior of the housing; a plurality of fiber opticcables connecting the fiber optic connectors to the circuit board; and aseparator plate positioned to surround the circuit board.
 2. The moduleof claim 1, wherein the separator plate includes a main body positionedbetween the fiber optic cables and the circuit board, and at least oneleg extending from the main body to the housing.
 3. The module of claim1, wherein at least some of the fiber optic cables include slack toallow the fiber optic connectors to be removed from the circuit module,and wherein the separator plate is positioned to separate the slack ofthe fiber optic cables from the circuit board.
 4. The module of claim 3,wherein the separator plate and an opposing wall of the housing define aspace in which the fiber optic cables are managed.
 5. The module ofclaim 1, wherein an optical switch is mounted to the circuit boardpositioned in the interior of the housing, and the fiber optic cablesconnect the fiber optic connectors to the optical switch.
 6. The moduleof claim 1, wherein the electrical connector is a connector edgeextending from the circuit board through an aperture defined by the rearface of the housing of the circuit module, and wherein the circuitmodule further includes a bracket mounted to the rear face to protectthe connector edge.
 7. A fiber optic connection panel, comprising: achassis; and a plurality of circuit modules adapted to be mounted to thechassis, wherein each circuit module includes: a housing defining aninterior; a plurality of fiber optic connectors extending from a frontface or a rear face of the housing; at least one electrical connectorextending from the front face or the rear face of the housing; a circuitboard positioned in the interior of the housing; a plurality of fiberoptic cables connecting the fiber optic connectors to the circuit board;and a separator plate positioned to surround the circuit board.
 8. Thepanel of claim 7, wherein the separator plate includes a main bodypositioned between the fiber optic cables and the circuit board, and atleast one leg extending from the main body to the housing.
 9. The panelof claim 7, wherein at least some of the fiber optic cables includeslack to allow the fiber optic connectors to be removed from the circuitmodule, and wherein the separator plate is positioned to separate theslack of the fiber optic cables from the circuit board.
 10. The panel ofclaim 9, wherein the separator plate and an opposing wall of the housingdefine a space in which the fiber optic cables are managed.
 11. Thepanel of claim 7, wherein an optical switch is mounted to the circuitboard positioned in the interior of the housing, and the fiber opticcables connect the fiber optic connectors to the optical switch.
 12. Thepanel of claim 7, wherein the electrical connector is a connector edgeextending from the circuit board through an aperture defined by the rearface of the housing of the circuit module, and wherein the circuitmodule further includes a bracket mounted to the rear face to protectthe connector edge.